Hollowfication (Realist)
- Hybrid Fullbringers }} Hollowfication (虚化 (ホロウ), Horōka) is the term used to describe the process by which the strength limit of a soul is increased by removing the boundary between and . This allows one to gain tremendous power, so long as their Hollowfication is under their own control, and is personified by a Hollow-like mask appears when entering this state. In order to gain control over Hollowfication, one must defeat the Inner Hollow that resides within inside their . Overview Hollowfication is the act of inserting Hollow into a Shinigami and using it to destroy the boundary between their latent Hollowfication and , merging the two in the process and turning the original soul into something more powerful. Originally this was used to strengthen a Shinigami's soul, but the technology that Soul Society possessed wasn't enough to control it. When a Shinigami is "Hollowfied", the victim's newly-awakened Hollow reiryoku bleeds into their Shinigami reiryoku, and the victim becomes a monster incapable of reason. In the end not only the boundary between the soul's Hollow and Shinigami sides, but also the person itself and the external world is disrupted and the soul, regardless of its own will, self-destructs. This is called "Soul Suicide" (魂魄自殺, Konpaku Jisatsu). According to and 's hypothesis, a is incapable of Hollowfication, as Hollow powers are essentially "poison" to them, and should a Quincy be infected, it would weaken their spiritual powers and lead to a Soul Suicide with no chance of Hollowfication to occur. Conversely, some select Fullbringer have shown the ability to access their naturally gained Hollow reiryoku to achieve similar results. This was evidenced when activated his , revealing a somewhat Hollowfied form in which his hair became white and his skin tone changed. Others have also shown the ability to summon masks similar to that of the while also displaying similar abilities, as well. Different Processes The process by which to activate such a transformation can be achieved by a few different methods which vary greatly depending on the race. In any process, the main determination of having achieved Hollowfication is the manifestation of a Hollow mask, save for a few select Fullbringers. Shinigami Hollowfication In order for a to undergo Hollowfication, they must be infected through wounds and must possess high-levels of . The infection causes its host great sickness and fatigue, eventually causing them to vomit in the form of a white liquid, which forms the beginnings of their Hollow mask before proceeding to transform their bodies and warp their minds. A large amount of stress is then placed on the of the infected Shinigami, while further stress can enhance and speed up the process. This was best evidenced by who, after becoming infected, attempted to attack Aizen in an angered state, only to speed the Hollowfication process. The conclusive result makes a Shinigami into a primarily Hollow-like humanoid, which is a highly unstable transformation causing mindlessness and aggression. This is the most common way for a to gain the power to Hollowfy, this being the method that all the underwent to gain Hollowfication. In addition, one can also undergo Hollowfication by using the to transform a Shinigami into a perfect Hollow-Shinigami Hybrid. 's Hōgyoku played a vital part in the process of making the currently what they are, as he tried to use it to return them to their previous Shinigami state. According to Urahara, what his device did was not what he had intended; the Hōgyoku stabilized the transformation into the hybrids, this being considered a failure in his eyes. They did not become complete Hollows, due to his intervention, and did eventually gain control over their new power. The Hōgyoku is implied to have had a hand in turning into a perfect Hollow-Shinigami Hybrid. While maintaining all the added benefits of a Visored transformation, Tōsen is notably different in the regard that he not only possessed a Hollow mask, but a as well, allowing him full access to a true sealed away complete Hollow form. Quincy Hollofication The only known way for a Quincy to undergo Hollowfication is to be infected from a hollow being who is capable of infecting whomever it bites, implanting Hollow into the target. This was readily seen with , a creation of 's that was formed from the souls of multiple . Whenever it bites it's target, White implants implants Hollow reiryoku into them, causing a phenomenon identical to that of Hollowfication. His initial creation was for the purpose of infecting a Shinigami and turning him/her into a Hollow. While not intended for any other target, White evolved past his initial specifications to that of a final "transference" stage which resulted in its destruction via explosion. Other than , any other Quincy that is infected with Hollow reiryoku will die due to a Quincy's lack of immunity to Hollow reiryoku. Fullbringer Hollowfication It has been shown that, if one possess Hollow from birth, that they are able to gain the ability of Hollowfication. This was evidenced by who inherited the powers of , and his subsequent , from his mother . This is also a common occurrence in a many different Fullbringers, beings who are born with natural reserves of Hollow . A Fullbringer can tap into these reserves of Hollow reiryoku naturally, but can only access larger amounts of it while in a state. If a Fullbringer is able to communicate with their Inner Hollow in their and defeat it, they can attain powers and a mask similar to that of the . Only a select few Fullbringers have attained this stage, though, leading some to believe that most Fullbringers cannot communicate with their Inner Hollow or access their Inner World. Solution The only way to stop the "Soul Suicide" is to insert into the soul something opposite to Hollowfication. The destruction of the boundary between souls, which is the key to Hollowfication, happens by disrupting the balance of the soul itself. In other words, a conflicting object would restore the balance on the other side and stop the destruction. *'Hollowfied Shinigami': Developed to stabilize the , this process requires a vaccine using the Quincy as well as Human souls. This is then injected into the souls of the Shinigami that had been Hollowfied, causing the "soul suicide" to cease. *'Hollowfied Quincy': Developed to stabilize , this process uses a specially created made from a human soul that envelops the Shinigami who enters it, becoming like a human body. If a Shinigami enters it then they will become a being midway between Shinigami and Human while becoming the opposite to that which they are attempting to stabilize (in this instance a Human as they are attempting to stabilize a Hollow). The drawbacks of this is that while inside the shell the use of Shinigami powers would be impossible nor will they be spiritually aware. Upon entering there is also no guarantee that the Shinigami will be able to go back to being a Shinigami again. Finally to make the shell work as a vaccine to block Hollowfication both the soul and the Hollow inside must be bound with a Reishi string. The string is extremely strong and its purpose is to bind souls, as long as its connected the Shinigami won't be able to leave as long as the subject lives. Beings who have undergone Hollowfication *' ': The most well-known group of Shinigami who have undergone Hollowfication are the Visored. There are eight members of the Visored, whom were all either former captains or lieutenants, save for Substitute Shinigami . As Aizen stated, "a normal soul can't contain the prototype" when undergoing Hollowfication, therefore Shinigami of a high spiritual level have to be the ones who undergo this process. *'Fullbringers': Due to their possession of Hollow from birth, some Fullbringers have shown the ability to undergo Hollowfication. Most Fullbringers only achieve this through attaining in their Fullbring state, donning a somewhat hollowfied form, but others have shown the ability to summon Hollow mask identical to those utilized by the . *' ': Former captain of the who turned traitor with and was given Hollowfication for his loyalty. He is noteworthy for being the only known Hollow-Shinigami hybrid with a . Other Situations When the used their Bankai Stealing Medallion to steal the of the , hypothesizes that a cannot intake Hollow Reiatsu without suffering injuries. To counter the Bankai-stealing, Urahara invented the , which temporarily Hollowfy the Shinigami taker, thus poisoning the Quincy who are in possession of the respective Shinigami's Bankai. Influences Influence of Hell .]] In the fourth Bleach movie, , Hollowfication is noted by several of the as being capable of liberating them from . The Togabito notes that the powers of Hollowfication are influenced directly by the atmosphere of Hell, in which, if left uncontrolled, their inner Hollow could proceed to consume them entirely. This is most notable when 's Hollow mask manifests itself when he attempts to release a Getsuga Tenshō attack. This seems to hint that levels of ones own plays a big part in controlling ones' own Inner Hollow, as well as the associated Hollow reiryoku, while in Hell.